Mix-Matched
by secretstories98
Summary: In a world where soulmates are led to each other, couples live happily ever after. Except for this one. Is it some kind of cosmic mistake? There's only one person she wants and it's definitely not him. Koga x Kagome
1. Chapter 1

As Kagome climbed out of the old well, she felt a wave of excitement wash over her. Pulling herself the rest of the way out of the well, she marveled at the fact that she was really here. She had spent the last year going between her time and feudal Japan, all thanks to this old well that somehow connected the two very different times, and she found that she still couldn't get her mind to grasp the fact that she could actually stand here.

Walking towards the village, she could start making out the voices of her friends. It sounded like they were arguing. Curious what they were talking about, she stopped and listened. She was told before that eavesdropping wasn't very polite, but oh well. She hid behind a tree and listened as her friends continued their conversation.

"I'm telling you, it doesn't matter. What does it matter about the stupid mark? We all know that it's gonna match mine. So just shut up about it!" Ah, that was Inuyasha. She would be able to identify his voice even in a sea of noise.

"How can you possibly be so carefree, Inuyasha? What if it isn't you? What if she ends up matching someone that we don't even know? Could you really let her go?" She listened as Miroku's voice slightly trembled at the end of his words.

She could feel Inuyasha's rage even from where she was hiding. His next words came out as a growl, "We don't need to worry about it. Because it will be me, you stupid monk. I won't have to let her go." Kagome listened as Inuyasha's footsteps led him in the opposite direction of where she was.

She knew what they were talking about now: her matching. In the feudal era, there is a demon that makes it possible for people to find their soulmates, by placing a mark on them. If you find a person who has the same mark as yours, that person is your soulmate and you will spend the rest of your lives together. The marking happens when a person turns 16 and is then called a "matching". Her matching has been a big topic for a few weeks now, since she turns 16 tomorrow, and everyone wondered who she would end up matched to. Kagome had no doubts who she would be with. Of course it would be Inuyasha. Who else could it possibly be? They both acknowledged the fact that they were in love, they just needed her mark to match his already present one.

Of course, Miroku was worried for them. He had always been a bit of a worrywart. When Sango's mark had appeared and matched his, he almost died of happiness. Now he only wished that happiness for his friends, but if it wasn't meant to be he wanted to make sure that this wouldn't ruin everything.

Kagome understood his worry. Afterall, she too had heard what people were saying about the matching. They say that once you set eyes on your match after being marked, something in you just clicks. You need that person and they need you. They had all said that it was impossible to fight, the people who had tried had all gone insane.

Shaking her head, Kagome laughed at herself. She wouldn't let these rumors get to her. There was no point, since she wouldn't want to fight against being marked for Inuyasha. They were just silly rumors, nothing more. They had nothing to do with her.

Walking to her friends, she raised her hand in a wave and called out, "Hi guys! I'm back!" Her friends had been so deep in thought that all three of them jumped when she called out to them. Shippo, being the fastest to recover from the scare, jumped into her arms. "Kagome! I missed you so much! How was the celebration with your parents?" Settling down beside Sango, Kagome started scratching behind Shippo's, making the young kitsune sigh in happiness. "It was good. I feel bad that I won't be there on the day of my actual birthday, but we all know that I need to be here."

At the mention of Kagome's pending marking, her friends went silent. "Guys, relax! It'll all work out somehow." Kagome smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. If she was completely honest with herself, part of her was afraid that she wouldn't end up with Inuyasha, no matter how much she wanted to. Her eyes wandered over to Sango and Miroku, cuddled in each other's arms. She wanted that. She wanted to feel the security and love that came with being matched. And she wanted it with Inuyasha. She just couldn't imagine being with anyone else. It had to be him. Pushing her doubts from her mind, Kagome laid out her sleeping bag. Pulling Shippo into the blankets with her, she fell asleep.

When Kagome opened her eyes the next morning, all she saw was yellow. Frightened, she reached out and smacked whatever was obstructing her view. She opened her mouth to scream for help when she heard a familiar voice, "Jesus, Kagome! What'd you have to go and do that for, huh?" Inuyasha was rubbing the spot on his cheek that Kagome had slapped. Taking deep breaths to calm her rapid heart, Kagome apologized, "I'm sorry for hitting you. But don't just creep up on people when they're sleeping! You almost gave me a heart attack! What were you even doing?" Inuyasha's face turned a deep red, as if he had been caught peeping during her bath. "I was looking for something," he mumbled. "What was that, Inuyasha? I couldn't quite hear you."

Inuyasha's face was beat red now. Looking away, he said, "I was looking for your mark. It's today, right? Your 16th birthday." Now it was Kagome's turn to blush. He had been staring at her for who knows how long, just waiting for his mark to pop up, proving that she belonged to him.

"From what I heard, Inuyasha, the mark shows up at the time you were born. I was born at exactly 12:00 in the afternoon. So here I guess that means I would be born whenever the sun is at it's highest in the sky," She looked at the sky, noting how the sun was almost to it's highest point, " I guess that it will be in about another hour or so, judging on the sun's position."

Inuyasha held his hand out to her, his sleeve falling back to show his mark on his wrist. Not everyone got them in the same place. Some people had them on their backs and some, like Inuyasha, had them on their wrist. The mark can appear anywhere on your body. Kagome reached out and touched his mark. She had always thought that it was beautiful. It was a dog, with red and yellow fur. The colors blended and created one of the most beautiful colors she had ever seen. The dog itself had a silver lining around it. It was a wonderful mark that matched him well, and she couldn't wait until it showed up on her skin.

For the next hour, Kagome couldn't get Inuyasha away from her. It was as if he left, he would miss the moment when she was marked. So where ever she went, he followed. As they strolled through the village, Kagome felt it. It started out as a dull ache and then turned into a searing pain right above her heart. She had heard that the marking was extremely painful, it felt like you were being branded, but she had not expected this much pain. Unable to help herself, she cried out. Inuyasha immediately caught on and caught Kagome just as her legs gave out.

"It's okay, Kagome. I'm here. It will pass, I promise," he soothed. Kagome couldn't hear him though, the pain was too great. It was like someone was taking a hot iron and pushing it right to her chest. After what felt like forever, the pain finally started to subside, until eventually it was gone. She breathed a giant breath of relief. That had been more painful than she could have anticipated, but it was over now. She was anxious to see her mark, but she had to get Inuyasha out here first.

"Inuyasha, I need you to leave and get Sango." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she knew that he was going to fight her on it. "Why would I do that, Kagome? Just show your mark. It's fine. It's gonna be mine anyway." She shook her head, her anger rising. "The mark is on my chest," She lifted her hand to the spot right above her heart, "I can't look at it with you in here. I'm gonna have to take my shirt off. So go get Sango!" Inuyasha blushed and left the hut that he had pulled them into.

A few minutes later, Sango came rushing into the hut. She looked at Kagome, "Are you ready for this?" Unsure of whether or not she could trust her voice, Kagome nodded her head. Nodding back, Sango sat across from her friend, holding a mirror so Kagome could see her mark. Kagome slowly unbuttoned her shirt, anxiety gripping her. Finally she got it unbuttoned and slid it off her shoulders. She was careful not to look at SAngo's face so she wouldn't get any clues about her mark. But when she looked at the mirror, only one phrase came to mind.

"What the fuck?!" Kagome screamed.


	2. Chapter 2

Kagome couldn't take her eyes off of the mark on her chest, the mark that so clearly didn't match Inuyasha's. There was no mistake, the mark on her chest didn't look anything like his. Where Inuyasha's mark took the shape of a dog, Kagome's looked like it was meant to be a tornado. The tornado was black at the bottom, but gradually got lighter until it finally became a light brown at the top. The was a faint blue shading around the edges of the mark.

Raising a shaky hand, she touched the outline of the tornado. If the mark had been one anyone else, she would have thought it was beautiful, even more so than Inuyasha's. Unfortunately, it wasn't on someone else, it was on her and that was enough to make her feel nothing except hate for the mark. It was the wrong one. How could this happen? She was meant to be with Inuyasha! She didn't even know who else could have this mark. She had never seen one like it before.

Kagome raised her eyes to Sango, searching for an answer to all the questions in her mind. All she found there, though, was a look of shock and sadness. Sango felt bad for her friend. She knew how much she had wanted it to be Inuyasha's, how certain she was that it would be. Sango also knew what it felt like to be matched with someone else. She wanted that for her two friends, had wanted them to be together. She knew she should try to say something to comfort the girl, she just didn't know what to say. There were no words that were gonna make Kagome feel better.

When a knock sounded at the door, it brought both girls back to reality. Kagome was starting to panic. She knew that was Inuyasha, wanting to see that they were matched. What was she going to tell him? As she tried to come up with words to say, Inuyasha beat on the door more frantically.

"Kagome! I know you're still in there. It's been a while, can I come in now?" He yelled through the door. Sango looked to Kagome, wondering what she should do. Deciding it was better for them to be alone when he found out, Sango stood.

"Button your shirt, Kagome. I'm leaving so you can talk to him." At the look of panic in Kagome's eyes, Sango hesitated. Should she really leave her alone to do this? She could just as easily tell Inuyasha. No, that wouldn't do them any good. He would just barge in here anyway. Kagome had to be the one to tell him.

Moving to the door, Sango called out, "Inuyasha, move away from the door. Kagome still needs to get dressed and I am coming out now." As she opened the door, she took a final look back at Kagome, who was fumbling with her buttons. Sighing, Sango moved out of the hut, closing the door behind her.

Kagome tried to get her mind in order, she really did, but it just wasn't happening. She just couldn't figure out how she was going to tell him. He had been looking forward to this moment for so long.. Now she would have to crush his hopes. She wasn't sure if she had the heart to do it.

Before she had anymore time to think about it though, Inuyasha was right in front of her, his eyes full of hope. She knew what he wanted. He wanted her to look him in the eyes, so their match would be made and their connection would just click into place, like it was meant to. She couldn't bring herself to look at him, dropping her eyes to look at the floor.

"Come on now, Kagome. This is no time to be shy," Inuyasha stated as he grabbed her chin. Pulling gently, he tilted her face so she was looking him in the eyes. She had imagined this moment so differently. She had always imagined that she would look in his eyes and just know that they were meant to be, but that's not how it happened. Kagome stared straight into his eyes, hoping that if she looked hard enough the connection would just happen. She felt nothing. At the realization that it was hopeless, she felt her eyes fill with tears.

She wasn't the only one suffering though. As tears rolled down her cheeks, she watched as Inuyasha finally registered what was going on. She had been marked and if she had locked eyes with the one who was meant to be her soulmate, they would feel the connection. Well, she was staring right into those golden eyes...and she felt absolutely nothing new. No click, no connection, no bond. Just profound sadness. When he finally figured out what was going on, his hand dropped from her chin.

"No… That's not possible," his words came out as a broken whisper, tugging at Kagome's heart. She didn't want to hurt him. "Inuyasha…." Her words were muffled by her tears. At the sound of her voice, Inuyasha's head snapped up. "It's okay, Kagome. We can try again. That was just a fluke." He tried to reach for her again, but she shook her head.

"It's pointless. We both heard the stories, Inuyasha. There are no flukes. You're either meant to be or you're not… I guess we're just..not." Her voice broke on the last words and a sob ripped it's way from her chest. Inuyasha's arms dropped to his side and he watched at Kagome fell apart in front of him. He couldn't bring himself to move though.

They sat there for what felt like forever, until Kagome's tears finally ran dry and her sobs had turned into little hiccups. She looked at Inuyasha, who hadn't moved this entire time, and called his name. His eyes snapped to hers, his heart searching for any sign of a connection, even though his brain knew that it wouldn't happen.

Kagome watched as his expression turned from one of sadness to one of anger. Before she could ask what was wrong, though, he grabbed her arm roughly. "Who then, Kagome? If not me, who are you meant to be with? Who could possibly love you anymore than I already do? Huh?" His words came out as a growl, but behind the anger she could still sense his sadness.

Kagome shook her head at him, "I don't know. I haven't seen anyone with the same mark as me. At least not in a visible spot." Having been reminded of her mark, Inuyasha's eyes flew to the spot right over her heart, where it was located. He wanted to know what it looked like, but at the same time he didn't. Seeing it would make it real, there would be no way to deny that she wasn't his.

Kagome couldn't stand the look on his face, the hurt that was written all over his face. She needed to get out here, away from him. Rising onto her shaky legs, she started moving towards the door. Inuyasha's hand reached out to grab her own, but she pulled away.

"Please, Inuyasha.. Just don't." She looked at him, her eyes begging him to understand. If she didn't get away from him, this would never end. She would fall right into his arms, completely disregarding the fact that they weren't soulmates. She couldn't do that to him. There was someone out there for him and she couldn't keep him from that. They needed to end this and move on.

Kagome turned away from him, running as fast as her legs would let her go. As she passed Sango and Miroku, she could hear them asking her what was wrong. She wanted to answer their questions, but her mouth just wouldn't form the words. Tears had started running down her face again.

Needing to get away from all the people staring at her, Kagome took off towards the woods. As she ran, the wind whipped past her face, drying any tears that had fallen there. She had no idea what she was going to do. The future she had been hoping for had just disappeared. She had no back-up plan, had never thought to make one.

Not paying attention to where she was running, she didn't even notice when a figure loomed in front of her, until she had already run into it. The impact knocked the breath from her lungs with a whoosh. Before she could fall to the forest floor, arms wrapped around her waist, holding her up. Kagome started to panic. Some stranger was grabbing her! Opening her mouth to scream, she looked up...right into a familiar pair of blue eyes.

She felt something click into place inside of her.


	3. Chapter 3

Still reeling from the feeling in her chest, Kagome stared up into the blue eyes of the man she had run into. Blue eyes that, she realized, she recognized. With recognition finally sinking in… Kagome almost groaned at what this meant for her.

She had thought that she hadn't met the one she was destined to be with, but she was wrong. Honestly, she probably would have preferred it to be someone she didn't know. Anyone but him really. She hadn't been matched to Inuyasha as she had hoped, instead she had been matched to his rival. Taking a deep breath, she felt his name slip from between her lips, "Koga."

Finally able to look away from his eyes, Kagome searched his face for any sign that she was crazy. For any sign that they hadn't been bonded together for eternity. Unfortunately, she found nothing. Koga's face had frozen in a look of shock. Feeling her eyes on him, he started to move, wrapping his arms tighter around her. Slowly, he drew her to his chest.. But was met with resistance.

"Stop this, Koga. Let me go," Kagome said sternly, placing a hand on his chest. At the sound of her voice, Koga's breath left him. He moved his hands to cradle her face, the look of surprise still plastered on his face.

"No freaking way. I can't believe it," his mouth drew up in a lopsided grin, "I always knew you were my woman, Kagome."

Kagome pulled his hands off her face, stepping back away from him. "You're wrong, Koga. I'm not your woman. It's not true." Feeling panic setting in, Kagome turned to run away from him. Koga caught her arm, holding her in place.

"I know you can feel it too, Kagome. I can see it in your eyes. We're meant to be together, so why are you fighting it?" He tried pull her back to him, but Kagome held her ground. She would not go to him, she didn't want to go to him… At least that's what she kept telling herself. Even while she tried to fight it, her body was rebelling. Every part of her screamed for her to let him pull her in, to let him hold her. Fighting it was almost painful and took a lot of focus.

Furrowing her brow, she focused on not giving in. Koga seemed to take the hint because he stopped his efforts to bring her to him. He removed his hand from her arm, intending to step away from her and give her space. Once his hand was off her arm though, Kagome swayed and blackness was creeping into the edges of her vision. The more she fought what her body wanted, the faster the blackness creeped in on her until, eventually, darkness overtook her.

Koga watched as Kagome's eyes rolled back into her head and her legs gave out, causing her body to rush toward the ground. Moving as fast as he could, he caught her before she could hit the ground. Gathering the small woman into his arms, Koga started walking towards the village.

Looking down at her, Koga felt a sense of worry for his mate. It felt so good to be able to call her that… His mate, his woman. He had known from the beginning that he loved her, but actually being matched to her was like a dream come true. Destiny had chosen them to be together, he accepted that, but it seemed that Kagome did not.

He understood her hesitation. After all, she had believed she was in love with the mutt, Inuyasha, for a long while now, so this new information was probably a huge shock to her. He knew she would warm up to idea though. You couldn't defy the mark.

Thinking of the mark made Koga wonder where Kagome's was. He could just imagine how beautiful the tornado shaped mark looked on her pale skin. He himself had only come into his mark a few months ago and it seemed that sometime since then, Kagome had gotten hers.

Afraid of causing her more pain, Koga was careful not to jostle Kagome too much. He had no idea what had caused her to collapse, but he wasn't going to take any chances. He continues to move through the dense forest, heading towards the smell of humans. Eventually, a little village came into view. By the smell of it, which reeked of Inuyasha, he assumed this was where Kagome and her bunch had been staying. He sniffed the air, searching for the smell of the only other woman in Kagome's group, the demon slayer. Finding the scent, he followed it into the village. The villagers stared at him, hostile at first, until they noticed Kagome in his arms, still unconscious. Once they saw her, they faces took on a look of worry. Kagome had made a difference in all these people's lives, Koga realized. He felt a swell of pride at having a mate who was so admired by her people.

Still following the scent of the demon slayer, he moved through the village until he came to a small hut in the middle of the village. As he got closer, he could hear voices from the inside of the hut, they started out quiet but as he got closer, they had escalated into screams. He knew that voice. Inuyasha was inside, and he was not happy.

Walking up to the hut, he didn't bother to knock, after all these were the members of his mate's pack, which them _his_ pack by association. Once he entered the room, all the yelling and fighting stopped, making the room eerily quiet. Looking around at the room, he could almost guess what had been going on in here.

Inuyasha was standing over the Monk, leaving Koga to guess that they had been the main source of the fight. At the Monk's side was the demon slayer. With the way they were angled towards each other, Koga assumed that they were mated. The small fox demon that always clung onto Kagome was huddled in the corner, looking small and afraid, he was also the first one to break the silence.

"Kagome! Oh god, Kagome what happened to you?" Shippo cried as he took in Kagome's unconscious form. It was then that they processed his presence in the small room. The demon slayer stood, he had no idea what her name was, and moved towards them. Her eyes met his, cold and hard as she asked, "What happened, Koga? Why are you coming in here, carrying Kagome?"

He could understand that they would be suspicious. Still, their lack of faith in him was hurtful. Did they actually think that he would hurt Kagome? He loved her!

The monk, Koga recalled his name was Miroku, reached out to his mate, "Careful, Sango."

" _So her name is Sango,"_ Koga thought. He tried to tell himself to remember t, but honestly no other woman mattered to him right now. He probably wouldn't even remember it in ten minutes. Looking into Sango's eyes, Koga tried to ease the tension in the room by answering her question, "I'm not sure what happened, honestly. We were talking about..stuff," he was careful to avoid saying that they were mates, "and she just collapsed. I sought you guys out, hoping you could help her." Koga didn't want to tell them they were mates yet. If they were angry and tried to fight him, he couldn't protect himself with Kagome in his arms, not without putting her in danger.

Sango's face softened, "Miroku and Shippo, go get Kaede. Maybe she'll know more about this." Miroku and Shippo jumped up, worry contorting their features. Moving through the doorway, Shippo looked back at Kagome, still lying unconscious in Koga's arm, and hurried off.

Sango laid out Kagome's sleeping bag, and motioned for Koga to place her on it. He was uncertain of whether or not he wanted to let her go. He had just gotten her, he didn't want to let her go now. He didn't know whether Kagome's friends would try to separate them, though that would be a crazy idea. Everyone knows that if you fight the mark, you'll go insane. Surely they didn't want that for their friend?

The moments passed in an awkward silence. Inuyasha had taken a seat on the other side of the hut, glaring at Koga, who was sitting next to Kagome. If the mutt thought he was mad now, Koga couldn't wait until he heard the news. There's no way Inuyasha would have ever thought that Koga would end up destined to be with Kagome. Koga would thoroughly enjoy telling him that Kagome was all his.

After what felt like an eternity, Miroku and Shippo finally returned, bringing an old woman along with them. She was petite and had an eye patch over one eye. Koga assumed this was Kaede.

When Kaede spied Kagome laying on the floor, she rushed over to her. The woman looked at Koga, and started with the interrogation, "I was informed that ye were in the forest speaking when Kagome collapsed." She paused to get Koga's answer, continuing only after he had nodded his head. "What were ye talking about? Was she acting strangely before she fainted?" Koga took a deep breath, looked Kaede in the eye, and recalled the events that happened just a few minutes before.

"I had been out running on a mission. On my way back, I caught Kagome's scent and decided to stop by to visit her," Koga heard Inuyasha let out a growl, "but before I could get to the village, she crashed into me. I caught her to keep her from falling, our eyes met and BOOM, it was like I just felt whole. Like everything inside me just clicked together," He turned to look at Inuyasha as he spoke the next words, "We're matched, soulmates, destined to be together." The people surrounding him let out a collective gasp. Inuyasha jumped at him, but was held back by a glare from Kaede, who motioned to Koga to continue.

"Well I was in shock from what had just happened and so was Kagome. But mine passed first, I guess. I kept trying to talk to her about it, kept trying to get her to say the words. She just kept retreating from me. If I took a step towards her, she would take one away from me. She tried to turn and run, but my arm just moved on its own, I couldn't let her walk away from me. I took my hand off though, and then she just passed out. I caught her, picked her up, and here we are."

Kaede nodded as she listened to Koga's recollection of the events. She had a fairly good idea of why this had happened. Looking from Kagome's unconscious self to the wolf demon keeping guard over her, she explained it.

"I don't think she is ill. Exhaustion probably caused her mind to shut down," seeing a confused look on Koga's face, she continued, "She was just marked today, which had already taken a toll on her body. Then she ran into you and the connection was made between the two of you. From what I gather, she fought the connection. This is extremely bad for the body and mind. When two people are matched, they yearn for the touch of the other. It's almost impossible to fight, that's why no one does it. If you try, it is extremely painful and exhausts all of your energy. I believe that is what happened to Kagome. Her body is trying to recover all the energy she lost today. Just let her rest and she should be fine."

Kaede rose to leave, throwing one last bit of advice to Koga, "When she awakens, she will call to you. Go to her. She won't be strong enough to handle the connection without you." Nodding to the woman, Koga watched as she left the hut. Once she was outside, all hell broke loose.

Inuyasha rose, his chest rising and falling with his frenzied breathing. Koga positioned himself over Kagome, willing to protect her from anything Inuyasha may try. His efforts were not needed though, as Miroku held Inuyasha back, speaking to him, "Inuyasha, Kagome needs to rest. If you cause a scene now, it may cause her more harm. I know this is unpleasant, but they are matched. There is nothing more you can do, it won't change anything. Kagome needs him."

For a moment, Koga thought he saw sorrow flit across the mutt's face, but it was instantly replaced by anger as Inuyasha seethed, " _Unpleasant?_ Is that how you would describe having to watch the woman you love be with someone else? I have to watch her be with some _dog!_ I won't do it! There must be some way to get rid of that damn mark." Fixing his hate-filled eyes on Koga, he growled, "Don't get too comfy, you mangy wolf. I'm gonna find a way to get rid of these marks. Then she'll be mine." Leaving those words hanging in the air, Inuyasha left, the door slamming behind him.


	4. Chapter 4

As Kagome felt her consciousness return to her, she instantly wished she could fall back asleep. Her head was killing her and her chest was aching. She tried to open her eyes, only to fail. Her eyelids felt like they were glued down. She needed to open her eyes, she needed to do something.. But what exactly was something? What had she been doing when she collapsed? She wracked her brain, trying to figure it out. She had been so upset about something, but she didn't understand what it was.

At that moment, her ears started picking up the noises coming from around her. Were those voices? Trying to distinguish who the people were, she listened to the voices speak around her.

"He just needs time. It came as a shock to all of us," one voice said. 'Ahhh,' Kagome thought, 'that's Miroku.'

"He said he would go find a way to remove it, is that really possible?" 'That's Shippo.'

"Of course not. No one has ever found a way to remove it. But I don't think any one has been unhappy enough to try either." 'Sango.'

One by one, Kagome was able to match the voices she was hearing to her friends. But there was another voice in the mix. Who was it? Why couldn't she hear them very well? Desperate to hear the voice, Kagome focused intently.

"Once she stops fighting the mark, she won't be unhappy. Then the mutt can stop this stupid hunt for something that doesn't even exist."

As Kagome finally heard the voice, her heart thumped in her chest. Her body felt twice as heavy as it already did. She felt like she was suffocating. In a moment of panic, she called out to the one she needed.

"Koga…" She whispered.

At the sound of Kagome's whisper, every one in the room froze. Koga, who had been on the other side of the room, jumped up at the slight noise.

'She called my name. She needs me.'

Almost knocking Shippo over in his haste, Koga rushed to her side. Reaching out, he stroked her cheek…. And Kagome opened her eyes.

Kagome felt someone stroke her cheek, immediately recognizing Koga's touch. At his touch, she felt like someone had just removed a giant weight from her chest. She had to see him. Had to touch him.

Opening her eyes, she saw his blue orbs floating right above her. They were filled with worry and Kagome's heart ached at the look on his face. She couldn't stand to see him this upset. She had to help him. Slowly, she moved her hand up to rest on his, which was still placed on her cheek. Turning her head, she pressed a kiss into the palm of his hand.

"Koga…." She breathed. Looking up at him, she saw that his face had turned a deep red. Finally realizing what she had done, Kagome came to her senses. Blushing, she sat straight up and scooted away from the man beside her. But she couldn't tear her eyes away from his. Those beautiful blue eyes of his. The more she looked at them, the more she lost herself. Unconsciously, she started to lean toward him… Until someone in the room cleared their throat, knocking her out of her trance.

Looking around, she saw that all eyes in the room were trained on her. Kagome started to panic. What had she just done? Why did she do that? She didn't even love Koga. She loved Inuyasha! Desperate to escape, she tried to stand, only to be caught by Koga as she swayed on her feet.

"Careful now, Kagome. That old priestess lady says that you're exhausted. You should take it easy." Koga whispered, his breath blowing on her ear.

Kagome shivered at the feeling, instantly feeling embarrassed about it. It was like she couldn't control her body's reactions anymore. Her brain knew that she shouldn't be reacting like this, but apparently her body had a different plan for her.

It was all his fault! If she could just get away from Koga, her body would listen to her again. If she just put some distance between them, then maybe the power of the match wouldn't affect her so much.

Placing her hands against his chest, she tried not to let herself get distracted by how strong his chest felt as she pushed herself away from him. Koga's arms fell from around her waist and she looked up at him, careful not to look in his eyes. His face was a mix of adoration and worry. He loved her, it was written all over his face, but she didn't feel the same. Unable to look at him anymore, Kagome turned and ran through the door of the shack.

"KAGOME!" She heard him scream after her, but she didn't stop running. She had to get away from him. He was fast and she needed to put as much distance between her and him as possible. She could hear him chasing after her and her heart sank to the bottom of her stomach. There was no way she could outrun him, he was too fast. He would catch her any moment.

Kagome was so focused on what was behind her, she didn't pay attention to who was in front of her, causing her to collide with someone for the second time that day. Her and her victim both toppled to the ground, her laying on his back.

"Hey! Watch where you're going would ya…." Inuyasha started to yell. When he turned and saw it was Kagome, his words died in his throat. Kagome's face was buried in his long, silver hair. Inhaling his familiar scent, she felt her mind relax. At least until she remembered that she was being chased by her "soul-mate", a soul-mate that wasn't Inuyasha. Jumping up, she started to run again until Inuyasha reached out and grabbed her elbow.

"Where are you going, Kagome," he asked.

Turning to look at his amber eyes, Kagome's own filled with tears.

"I need to get away from here, away from him. I don't want this. I don't want him." Her voice pleaded for him to understand.

Inuyasha's heart-beat sped up. All he needed to hear was that she didn't want anything to do with that wolf. Wrapping her in his arms, he threw her onto his back, and ran.

They ran for what felt like forever, although it had probably only been a few hours. Inuyasha jumped to a high branch and set Kagome down on it. Sniffing the air, he didn't smell any sign of the mongrel so he sat down beside her. Leaning against the tree, Kagome closed her eyes. She wanted to be relieved that she was away from Koga. Inuyasha was fast, but Koga was faster. Even if he hadn't found them yet, he would eventually.

Part of her rejoiced at the fact that she would see him again, but the other half felt numb. Her energy felt like it was being sucked away. Her eyes ached and she just wanted to sleep. She felt bad for Inuyasha. He had gone out of his way to bring her here, to get her away from Koga, and now she was too exhausted to even speak to him.

Opening her eyes, she saw Inuyasha staring at her, his face only mere inches away.

"Kagome.." He whispered, his breath washing over her. It didn't affect her the way it used to. Before her face would have turned red and she would have been reduced to a blushing mess. Now, though, she just felt wrong. When Koga's breath touched her, it felt amazing….

'No!' She thought, 'I need to stop thinking about him!'

Kagome was pulled out of her thoughts by Inuyasha cupping her cheek. Pulling her to him, he lightly pressed his lips to hers. Kagome's stomach roiled at the feeling of his lips on hers. Her body was fighting to get him away, to stop him from taking her lips. Kagome tried to ignore her body's reaction, pushing them to the back of her mind. When Inuyasha parted her lips and tried to explore her mouth with his tongue, it became impossible. Her stomach convulsed. She pushed him away, leaned over the edge of the branch, and vomited.

When she was finally done heaving, she buried her face in her hands. She was afraid to look at him, but she had to. Peeking between her fingers, she instantly regretted her decision. Inuyasha was staring at the ground with the most depressing look on his face. Feeling her eyes on him, he turned towards her.

"It's okay, Kagome. I know it's not your fault. It's that damn mark. I'm going to find a way to get rid of it. I won't let him have you. I promise."

With those parting words, Inuyasha leaned in, kissed her on the cheek, and left her.


End file.
